Healthy Recipes to Keep You Fit and Fabulous

Corey and I woke up this morning and set out to complete our usual 2.5 mile run. I’ve completed this run many times before, but, I’ve never been able to run at a good pace for the entire time without stopping. I usually stop half-way for about 1-2 minutes to catch my breath.

Well, I finally did it!

I don’t know what got into me (possibly extra fuel from last night’s nachos??) but with my iPod blasting and my running buddy by my side, I wasn’t slowing down for anything!

Once I got to my usual stopping point, I kind of wanted to stop, but then Corey held out his hand for a high-five, which gave me the boost I needed to keep on truckin’.

I would like to personally thank Justin Bieber for making my accomplishment possible- I blasted his song “Never Say Never”, and I was pumped to keep running!

I know that to many of you half and marathon runners out there, my 2.5 miles is just a warm up! I hope to slowly but surely increase my distance. I’m not sure if a half marathon will ever be a part of my future, but…as the Biebs would say, “NEVER SAY NEVER!” 🙂

Poor Corey was (and still is) absolutely miserable with allergies. He even had to walk out of the church service because his sneezing was so bad. I left him on his deathbed and headed out to Mall at Millenia for a semi-business meeting. Stay tuned for a fabulous (and fun!) product review in the near future!

When I returned home, I got started on some homework, and after a while, I was feeling snacktastic. Unfortunately, we’re limited on snack supplies, so I settled for a Strawberry Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie.

Being a Paula Deen contest, I was fully prepared to use loads of butter and full-fat cheese and cream cheese, because, hey, that’s what Paula Deen cooking is all about! This time around, I wanted to lighten up my recipe and add some veggies.

Broccoli and Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

3 baking potatoes, washed and baked or microwaved until fork tender

1 cup cooked chopped broccoli florets

2 tablespoons fat free sour cream

3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

1 wedge Laughing Cow Light French Onion cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

After cooking the potatoes, use a knife to slice a slit down the middle.

Using a spoon, scoop the potato flesh out of the inside of all 3 potatoes, being very careful not to break through the skin anywhere.

Place the flesh into a bowl.

Discard one of the empty skins. In the bowl, place the chopped broccoli florets, Laughing Cow wedge, parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, and sour cream.

Mix everything together.

Use a spoon to scoop the filling back into the empty potato skins. Use the back of the spoon to pat down the filling so you will be able to add more, and use the front of the spoon to help round it out on top.

Place both potatoes into a baking dish. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese. Sprinkle the tops of both potatoes with the breadcrumb mixture, and spray with non-stick spray.

Place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until the tops are browned. Keep an eye on it- it will burn quickly! (Like mine did)

I served our pork and twice-baked potatoes with a salad of spring mix and shaved carrots, topped with Kraft Toasted Sesame Dressing.

After dinner, I was really excited to try a new dessert discovery! Last night, when I stopped in at CVS, Corey asked me to grab some ice cream. I got him some regular ice cream, and I picked up one of these for me:

This was so good. I almost felt guilty by the time I finished, because it seemed as if I had just sat down and polished off a pint of Haagan-Dazs! I still can’t believe it was only 150 calories. I will definitely be buying more of these in the future!

Time for Real Housewives of Orange County! WoooooooHoooooooo! (said like Vicki)